Tony stared right back at the winged, horned horse glaring at him. The only soul piercing gaze that could rival hers was Eishla's own.
"Come down here creature," she commanded.
Creature? She can't be serious.
He wasn't even able to answer before his body began to descend. His arms and legs spread apart as he stopped just above the floor. Celestia placed him against the wall with her magic and came closer.
"Who are you?" She questioned. He felt his body being squeezed by an invisible force.
As he tried to change back to his first form, he realized her… whatever it was, kept the metals from moving. He struggled a bit to get the metals to recede, but she wasn't letting him move.
"Struggling is pointless," she told him. "Now answer me. Who. Are. You?" She was right in his face, with the angriest glare ever.
Breathing became difficult as her grip tightened, nearly crushing his airway.
"Princess, maybe you should-"
"I will ask for your advice when I need it, Captain," she said to him. She came closer, her face pressed into his and the horn in his metal hair. "Answer me!"
The hold on him worsened. It felt like his entire body was being compressed. He didn't understand why she was so angry. Sure he broke the ta… a room, but that didn't mean she had to do this. The crushing sensation started to make him grunt in pain, prompting him to try harder to make the metals recede.
"Princess! You're hurting it!" Shining warned her.
"If it refuses to answer it will receive punishment," she said without turning away. "Last time. Who are you and where have you taken her?!"
Enough was enough. If she pressed any further she would break something… or he might just get crushed. He focused his energy into his arms. They began to move against her wishes. Their jaws dropped as he moved while he was still in Celestia's magic hold.
His arms reached in front of him, and caused her to move away. The pressure ramped up and tried to pin his arms back down. He put in more effort and got his arms to stay up. Next, he pulled his body off the wall and planted his feet on the floor. He coiled his arms to his chest and gathered some of his remaining energy. The glow became dust, or something, as he thrusted his arms outward. He was able to move again, and he no longer felt as if his body was collapsing.
Celestia was pushed back from his escape, and several guards came rushing in. The creature raised its hands and they raised their weapons. Shining Armor went to make sure the princess was alright. Just as she prepared to encase him again he started making hand motions. He remembered they didn't have hands, but maybe they would get what he was implying.
He waved his hands down, trying to get the message for them to relax. Miraculously it worked, and the guards eased up slightly. The horse came back with the smaller stallion, whose horn was glowing. He made the same gesture and raised his hand for them to wait. They complied and he stood still.
"Remove your armor, creature," Shining ordered. Tony looked at him with a brow furrowed underneath his mask. It hit him that the metals over him resembled armor, missing a few pieces.
He nodded and closed his eyes. The skin above his spine split apart, away from their view. The metals began to creep around and move, causing their jaws to drop and some to turn a bit green. He made sure to leave the "mask" for last as the metals over his body went into the opening. The slit he opened closed behind the last of the metals and a new one opened, this one in the back of his head. Now he made the metals over his face recede. The mouth piece came apart and went into his cheek before moving into the new entrance. His hair softened and turned back to its usual black.
His body was normal again, and when he opened his eyes he nearly laughed. Some of the guards looked like they were swallowing vomit. One of the mares had fainted, another was eyeing him curiously, Pinkie Pie was still hopping in place, and the white horse was still staring daggers into him.
"Tony," he mumbled. "My name's Tony."
The purple one's horn began to glow, and in a flash a scroll and quil appeared out of nowhere. She scribbled something down and kept listening.
"Why are you here?" The horse again.
He turned his head away in thought. The last thing he remembered was fighting Netu'ung in a field. Then they both started breaking up, and here he was.
"I don't know," he muttered. "I was fighting… wait, was there another one of me?"
"Yes," Shining Armor answered. "He knocked you unconscious."
"Where is he? Is he still here?" Tony asked. They shook their heads.
"They took somepony with them. Princess Luna," the horse said. Tony sighed softly, knowing that it was his fault for endangering some… somepony else.
"And who are all of you?" Tony asked. "Besides you," he said, pointing to Shining Armor. "Shining Armor, right?"
He looked surprised. "Yeah. How did you know?"
"When I woke up the first time, I heard that doctor saying Shining Armor, and then you walked up."
"Oh, makes sense," he shrugged.
"So, who are the rest of you?" He repeated his question.
"I am Princess Celestia," the horse said.
He turned to the six mares. Pinkie Pie waved at him with an unusually large smile. "I'm Pinkie Pie!"
"Yeah, I heard," Tony said. The purple horned one put the scroll aside, clearing her throat softly.
"I'm Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia's protégé," she nodded. Her name explained why the cyan one called her Twi.
"Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in Equestria." Speaking of the cyan one.
He felt his hand being violently shaken. His arm would've ripped off if it pumped any harder. The orange one with the stetson was doing the shaking.
"Ah'm Applejack," she said in a western accent. "Pleasure makin' yur acquaintance."
After she stopped pumping his arm it still swung for a second. He had to use his other arm to stop it.
"Who's that?" he asked, pointing to Fluttershy.
Rainbow moved next to the meek pegasus and put her hoof around her shoulder. "That's Fluttershy."
"Rarity," the alabaster mare said, flicking her mane to the side. "I'm the Ponyville seamstress." Since they were on the subject...
"Where are my clothes?" He asked Celestia.
Her horn glowed and his black shirt and torn jeans appeared on the bed. He changed back into them, then searched through his pockets.
"Where's my stuff?" Tony questioned.
"We have a group of scientists studying them at the moment," she answered. She still glared at him menacingly.
"I need them."
"You will have them returned when you tell us where they have taken Luna." Her tone was starting to bother him. Actually… it was bothering It.
"Listen," he said aggresively, which made the guards raise their spears. "I don't what it is I did, or why the hell you're mad at me, but I want my tech and my Daedalak. I'll break out of this room if I have to."
Shining Armor seemed a little pissed now too. Maybe because he made a demand to his princess, and threatened his stallions.
"First off, you don't speak to Celestia that way. And second, we have the entire Solar guard on alert outside," he sneered. "So let's see you try."
Tony would gladly accept the challenge, seeing how they seemed weaker than the younglings of his kind, but he didn't want them thinking he was the one to worry about. And yet, he still had no control over It.
"You think your little spears will hurt me?" he questioned as he came closer to the guards. "Even in this form I can take you all down and still have energy to get away from here."
The guards put their spears a little higher so they were jutting at his partially exposed stomach.
"I can tell when someone's scared, and there's only two of you who aren't," he growled. "I KNOW you saw what I did to those soldiers. Imagine what I could do to weaker, smaller, creatures? Especially since I LOVE meat," he smirked, revealing his advanced canines.
The guards, even the whitest of them, turned a ghostly pale. The mares seemed to get a little scared themselves. Celestia still stared back with her angry eyes. She did take notice of the sudden shift from neutral to aggressive, however. Tony's smirk faded and he stood tall.
"But I was raised better," he snorted, glaring back at Celestia. "I'm no savage killer and I won't act like I am. All I'm asking is that you cooperate."
"And why should we?" Celestia retorted, barely managing to suppress a snarl.
"Because," he said, "I'm the only one who can find your princess. And if I don't get my things, I won't help you get this Luna back."
He was slammed into the wall again. It was Celestia, tears seemed to be welling up in her eyes as she visibly snarled in rage.
"DON'T YOU DARE SPEAK ABOUT LUNA LIKE SHE'S SOME THING!" She yelled in the Canterlot voice. "YOU WILL FIND HER, OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES!"
Tony broke out of the spell again. The guards rushed forward, only to have their spears taken away and being floored in one swift motion. Tony snapped the heads of the spears off and tossed them back.
"I suggest you bring me my Daedalak before this gets out of hand," he chuckled while crossing his arms.
"You brute!" Rarity scolded. "How dare you attack the princess and her guards!"
"Well, milady," he joked, "if you were watching, they attacked first. I was merely defending myself."
"You attacked the guards!" Twilight added. "And broke their weapons! Was that really necessary?!"
"Enough!" his voice boomed. "Last time I'm saying this. Give. Me. My. Damn. Daedalak."
"What the buck are you talking about?!" Rainbow yelled, flying up to him and pressing her face against his. "What the heck is a Day-Dada-whatever you said?!"
She wasn't able to push him back, but he was. He glared at her, then realized his mistake. He turned and facepalmed with a groan.
"I forgot you don't speak my language", he sighed, a bit embarrassed. "My sword. Where is it?"
"With the rest of your things," Shining told him.
"Just bring it to me, and I'll listen to whatever you have to say," he said.
Shining looked at Celestia. She hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded. "Golden Glow, get his sword. It's in the science lab."
"Yes, sir," the guard saluted. He rushed past Tony and went to carry out his orders.
Tony turned towards the window and saw ponies walking around. Some had fancy, equine-style tuxedos and mares with dresses coming behind them.
"Where the hell am I?" He wondered aloud.
"Equestria," Twilight answered.
He raised a brow. "Equestria? Where's that?"
"Right here, doofus," Rainbow said.
Tony had second thoughts on not slapping her before. He mentally kicked himself for even thinking about that. He needed to get a grip on It, or else things would go south real fast.
"What are you?" Celestia questioned. He turned back to her and thought about it for a moment.
"I'm human," he replied blankly.
"Thats impossible. Humans are a myth," Twilight said.
"No they-I mean, well we're not," he stammered. "I'm here. Enough proof for ya?"
He could have sworn he heard Rainbow whisper to Applejack: "We owe Lyra a ton of bits."
"Is the other one human?" Twilight asked. "The bigger one?"
"Yeah," he lied. "We're human."
"Then why were you fighting?" Shining asked. "Aren't you the same?"
"I'm nothing like him," Tony raised his voice slightly. "He's a sick, demented, bastard. I'm NOTHING like him." His breathing was getting irregular, heavy almost.
They were quiet for a moment, until Celestia spoke. " Do you know where they have taken Luna?"
"No, princess, I don't know," he shouted. "They took her, not me."
"Don't talk to the princess like that!" Twilight yelled.
"Watch your tone, freak," one of the guards said.
Tony snapped. He could handle anything they had to say, but in this state, freak was something he wouldn't tolerate. They barely registered his movements as Tony ran forward, grabbed the guard, and pinned him to the wall. They all screamed for him to let the pony go, but Tony was lost in fury.
"Don't you ever. Fucking. Call me a freak," he growled into the pony's ear. "Call me a freak again, and the last thing you'll see is my fist before it breaks your skull open. Clear?"
The guard, gasping for breath, nodded. Tony threw him into the other stallions. About the same time, Golden Glow came in. He snatched the blade from his teeth and turned back to the ponies. Celestia pummeled him into the wall with another beam, aided by Shining Armor. It did little more than push him back and burn his newly healed skin. He placed the blade on his back and put his palms in front of the blast. The two beams connected with his hands, but they held there instead of burning him.
He ducked under it and ran straight for them. Before they could redirect their shots, he pinned them against the wall like the stallion.
"I've had just about enough of you," he snarled. "He mocks me, and you attack me? Give me one reason why I should help you get Luna back."
He didn't let up with the pressure. Even as the ponies pulled and kicked him, he didn't relent. Celestia's horn flicked on and off, the lack of oxygen scattering her focus.
Then, the butter coated pegasus from before flew in front of him. She had a soft look, warm and caring. She placed her hoof on his arm, and slowly he eased his grip.
"It's okay," she whispered softly. "Just take a deep breath, and relax." He slowly opened his hands and dropped the two ponies, each wheezing for breath.
She came closer and put her hoof on his shoulder. She had a small smile, almost unsure but loving at the same time. Her touch was surprisingly relaxing. Warm, tender, and comforting. Like… like Heraj.
Salemos.
He shook his head and realized what he had done. He'd taken it too far. Instead of fighting It, he let it dictate his actions and he nearly… murdered. He turned away and walked to the window.
"How did you do that?!" He heard Rainbow whisper.
"He's not angry at any of you," Fluttershy said. "Everypony needs to just calm down before this gets worse."
She was right. This all started, partially because of Celestia, because he didn't keep It on a leash. Instead of cooperating with them, he was acting like they had to comply with him. If Dan were here, he'd straight up say he was being a dick. He needed to relax before he broke a promise he mad long ago. Tony turned away from them and reached up to his chest, intending to touch his most valued possession. But he merely touched his own torso, his chest being empty.
"Where's my medallion?" He spoke up. "Bring me my medallion."
"Okay, that's it!" Twilight fumed. " Fluttershy is being so nice and you're still acting like Blueblood?! What is so important about that stupid sword and your stupid medallion?!"
If Fluttershy hadn't just calmed him down, he doubted he would have been able to control himself. But he couldn't help but flinch at her words. She insulted the one thing he had left to remember her.
He knelt down and came eye to eye with her. "See this?" He asked, showing the bright blue blade to her. "This stupid sword is all I have to remember my father. And my stupid medallion is all I have to remember my mother. You think they're stupid? Fuck you. It's all I have that I can call my own."
His little retort had the desired effects. She looked guilty and sorry for what she said. He didn't find content in it, however. He was acting so stupid he didn't really blame her for blowing up at him.
"I'm sorry for bringing Netu'ung here," he sighed. "And for what I've done. Just tell me one thing, Celestia. Who is Luna?"
He could see the withholding of tears as she spoke. "She's my sister, and ruler of the night. That other human and those monsters took her," she told him. "Please, we still haven't found her, and you are our only hope of finding her."
Any anger from before was replaced with sadness and determination. She stepped closer to him.
"Will you help us find her?" She asked.
With all that had happened, he had no right to say no. This was a family matter. He brought Netu'ung here, and those soldiers, and they took her sister. She had a strong sisterly love for her, and he knew what they did to their female prisoners. He couldn't let that happen to them. He wouldn't let that happen.
"I can find her," he stated, brightening their moods a bit. "But first answer me this: How long was I out altogether?"
Shining Armor counted silently and sighed. "About 20 hours. Why?"
"We need to move fast. We have four hours before we never see your sister again. Get any guards you're bringing and bring me some kind of clothing she may have worn. And bring me anything you took from me."
"What happens in four hours?" Twilight questioned.
"To put it bluntly, they're going to torture, rape, then eat her," he said. Applejack turned around and vomitted into her stetson with Rainbow Dash. "Where's the nearest forested area?"
"The Everfree Forest," Twilight replied as she suppressed a gag.
"Alright, you heard what I said, move," he told them.
"Okay, I'll gather the guards out front and ready the chariots," Shining said.
"Cadence will accompany us, you six stay here," she told the Elements.
"Uh-uh," Rainbow said. "We wanna help, too! For Luna!".
"She's right. We're not gonna sit here and wait, Princess," Twilight said. "Let us help, for Luna's sake!"
Celestia debated it in her head for some time. She sighed deeply and turned to the guard remaining. "Reserve three chariots for them and have the best guards protecting them."
"Yes, ma'am," he said as he left.
Celestia turned to Tony, who was reading over the text on his mother's medallion. She could see a bit of lingering annoyance… but at the same time she could sense longing.
"Meet us in the castle gardens," she said to him. "Shining Armor should bring you your things".
"Good," he said.
She exited his holding room, and in a flash of magic she was in Cadence and Shining Armor's room. Her niece was by the balcony, looking down to Canterlot.
"Cadence," she called. The pink alicorn turned and galloped to her aunt.
"Tia! How'd it go? Will it help us?!" she asked.
"Yes he will. But we need to hurry. There isn't much time." Cadence nodded and followed her aunt to her room.
Luna awoke with a shake.
"Bre'ok duke dot! (Don't drop it!)" She heard something snarl.
Above her were two shadowy figures. The one closest to her slung her over its back and continued walking. The dimly lit walls let her make out some of its shape. Whatever was carrying her was quite tall, it was bipedal, and it had fur. The figure behind them walked ahead and opened a door. If it didn't creak she wouldn't have thought it was a door.
The room inside was brighter than the hallway. When they walked in, she gasped. The creature holding her looked exactly like a wolf. It had the same head as one, but its hind legs were shaped to let it walk on two. The other waited by the door as she was tossed inside an iron cell.
"Dot'et enish (It's awake)" The one by the door said. She stood up and looked at the wolf that had been carrying her. For a moment it just looked at her, its eyes darting over her figure.
"What is the meaning of this?!" she shouted. "My sister and I will have your paws in chains!"
The wolf let out a low, deep chuckle before coming closer. "If you found," it growled, clearly uncomfortable speaking her language.
"Oh, she will find me. She won't hesitate to send the entire Solar Guard to apprehend you scum!" She spat. The wolf only chuckled and examined her again.
"Won't be problem, slender one," it growled. She shuddered from its comment on her figure. "Farewell."
With that, it left. She attempted to teleport out of the cell, but her horn flickered then died. She tried shooting the lock, but with the same results. She groaned in frustration and kicked the bars. They didn't relent under her alicorn strength, as it usually could.
"What. Is. Happening?!" Luna grunted after each buck. She rubbed her horn and heard a metallic clink!
She ran her hoof down the length of her horn until she felt something. There was a metallic ring around the base of it.
"I saw them put it on you." She jumped when she heard the voice. "Wow. You really are a horse. Thought I was going crazy."
Now that she took a good look around the room, she saw more cells. Most were empty, some had animals, but the one next to her had another creature. It looked exactly like the two creatures in the dining hall. Only that this one was much smaller and had blonde hair, paler skin, and blue eyes.
"Who… what are you?" Luna questioned.
"Hey, I'm not that ugly," he chuckled, clutching his chest in mock offense. "Then again, you probably don't have humans around here."
It would appear Rainbow Dash owes Lyra 20 bits.
The human reached between the bars with his chained… skin claws. "My name's Daniel. And you are?"
Luna stared at the appendages of the human. They looked like claws, but instead of scales there was just skin and the tips were pinkish. Dan got the impression of her uncertainty and chuckled softly.
"Don't worry, I don't bite," he joked.
His humor served to ease her slightly, and she placed a hoof in his hand. It was actually soft. "Princess Luna," she said.
"A princess. It's an honor to meet you," he bowed from his crouched position. He kissed her hoof lightly and bowed again.
It was quite surprising that Daniel knew of the old customs. Celestia had said a simple hoofshake was the current means of introduction. It served to bring her more comfort around him.
"Thank you. Ponies have forgotten the old ways in light of their new society," she smiled. "Do you know of our location?"
"Well," he sighed, "not really. I woke up, got dragged here after a little scuffle, and here I am. What about you? Don't you have like bodyguards or something?"
"Normally. However, tonight, or yesterday, I was to attend a dinner with my sister, Celestia," she explained. "I allowed my guards their leisure whilst I enjoyed my sister, my niece, and my friends' company."
"Hmm. So what happened?"
"During our meal, two humans brought their battle into the hall. Those Diamond Dogs followed and took me," she said.
"Diamond Dogs?" He said with a confused expression.
"Those beasts that brought us here," she told him.
Dan laughed out loud, confusing her some. "Those aren't, what'd you call'em? Diamond Dogs?" She nodded. "Those mutts are called Arthanians. Soldiers to be specific."
"I've never seen one." Dan chuckled lightly.
"I'm sure you haven't," he said. "They don't even come from this planet."
Her jaw dropped. "They come from the stars?" Dan nodded. "That is a lie! It must be!"
"Sorry to say, but they really do come from a different planet," he smiled. "So anyways, you said something about two other humans. What'd they look like?"
She thought back to the dining hall. She only had a few minutes to look at either of them, as they were fighting quite intensely. Even then she had focused most of her attention on the larger one, who seemed to be the malicious one of the two.
"One was smaller than the other. The larger had scales and a tail, and it carried a large axe," Luna told him, recalling the details.
"Did it have fangs sticking out of its mouth?" he asked. She remembered its face, and indeed there were four fangs jutting out of its mouth.
"Actually yes. How did you-"
"I know what he is. He wasn't human, I can tell you that much", he said. " His name is Netu'ung. He's a Loki'irian. Tough sons of bitches, I must say."
"Are you enemies?" She asked.
"Me and him?" He cracked up at the thought of trying to fight Netu'ung. "Heeeell no! That guy could tear me to shreds with a nasty look! Now what about that other guy?"
"It had torn clothing over most of it. From what I saw it was mostly iron or some type of metal. It had a weapon of its own, a bright blade it hid in its clothing. Did you know it too?"
Dan said nothing. He just stared at her for a second. His mouth was hanging open in shock, even as he turned away. He mumbled something incoherent.
"What's wrong?"
He turned back to her, a huge smile replacing his casual look. "He's here! Ten years and he's here!" Dan cheered.
He jumped around his cell in joy chanting "He's here!" the whole time. She didn't know what to think. Maybe he knew the smaller creature? If so, he wouldn't want to hear of its death.
The thought bothered her. It protected her at the cost of its own life. Was she to blame for his companion's death?
"Oh, Luna! He's coming! If I know that son of a bitch he's gonna come in guns blazing!" He cheered.
She hoped that would be true. And what was a gun?